Everything to get you started with film photography
Each film type has their own unique characteristics: performance, response to light, qualities and effects. It is very useful to experiment with each film for a while so you become familiar with its characteristics and later be able to make an informed decision as to what type of film suits you and your taste best. There are also less popular films out there that are definitely worth getting into and becoming familiar with for their special results. Film emulsions had to go through a process of consecutive evolutions (and still are, so to speak) till various versions that we know today were born. What is film emulsion? Emulsion is a light-sensitive...
Read MoreHDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR Part 5
Hey folks. We’re continuing our HDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR series with the fifth part today. In part 4 last time we talked about focusing techniques and practices using what is known as the follow focus system. You can refer to that post here in case you missed it. Today we will be talking about lighting in video. For shooting video with a DSLR, you have a range of lights and light modifiers to choose from but I’m gonna handle the most popular and effective ones. Open face lights Open face lights are continuous light sources that are tungsten-halogen quartz fixtures made from high quality lightweight aluminum with high efficiency...
Read MoreHDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR Part 4
Hey folks. We’re continuing our HDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR series with the fourth part. I promised I would talk about focusing techniques and practices used in HDSLR photography, and so today I deliver =) I wanna talk to you about something that is constantly used in the video industry for focusing your shots: the follow focus system. The follow focus system basically has 2 roles: It helps you keep your hands off the camera at the actual time of shooting to minimize camera shake as much as possible. It helps you mark your different points of focus beforehand, so you quickly and efficiently move between different points or subjects during the shoot,...
Read MoreProfessional studio photography lighting techniques: Product photography
In today’s post I’m answering Adrian Delsi’s query. Adrian has sent in the following question: What are the best techniques for doing product photography on white backgrounds? I have to shoot a ton at work but there is usually a ton of post. What can I do to speed it up? Thank you Adrian for sending in your question. For product photography, there are a lot of ways that you can approach such a problem, and today I’m gonna mention two of the easiest, quickest, most effective and most professional of them. Light tents In product photography, small items and jewelry are often placed inside light tents, which are white translucent...
Read MoreNightclub & concert photography tips for the modestly equipped shooter
Last night, Ivo sent in an inquiry regarding nightclub and/or concert photography. Ivo has a humble photography kit, as most of us who are not born millionaires do! He was asked to shoot a nightclub event happening in 2 days from now, and he‘s reaching out for help in that area. Since Ivo’s situation is a bit urgent, I had to move up the question queue and give priority to his issue, but this in no way means that I’ve forgotten about all your questions that have been submitted earlier. I will get to them soon and make sure I provide an answer to each and every one of you, but in the spirit of helping one another let’s start by trying to...
Read MoreHDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR Part 3
Hello again. This is the third part of our series HDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR. In part 1, we talked about how motion-picture cameras work to produce staggering, high quality Hollywood movies. And in part 2 last time, we continued to learn about how to apply the same principles in terms of shutter speed and frame rate in HDSLR photography to produce the same great, professional-looking video results on our DSLR cameras. So, last time I promised I would dedicate this next post entirely to focusing techniques of HDSLR photography. But as I began working on the post I realized that in order to go over focusing techniques and issues we need to talk a little bit...
Read MoreHDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR Part 2
Hello again. This is the second part of our newest series HDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR. In part 1 last time, we talked about how motion-picture cameras work to produce staggering, high quality Hollywood movies. So now we can continue where we left off, and learn how to apply the same principles in terms of shutter speed and frame rate in HDSLR photography to produce the same great, professional-looking video results on our DSLR cameras. We’ve learnt that in motion-picture cameras, the rotary disc shutter angle is normally 180° and the frame rate is 24 fps. So how does that translate to shutter speeds on a DSLR? A 180° shutter angle with a 24...
Read MoreHDSLR: Shooting video with a DSLR Part 1
There’s been this hype for a while now about shooting video on a DSLR so I’ve decided to dedicate a few posts on this subject, explaining this whole phenomena along with the basics and techniques, tools and gear needed, post-production and publishing and distribution in a form of series of posts first of which is this one here today. So what’s all the fuss about? First and foremost obvious reason behind this whole new “cult” rising is the high quality of videos shot with a DSLR camera. In fact, last episode of season 5 of my most favorite TV show of all time, House M.D., was shot entirely using Canon EOS 5D Mark II cameras. As we...
Read MorePhotography & light: Simple backlighting for dramatic effects
This post is an answer to a question that Raymund Picart has sent in. Raymund, as I’m sure many others out there, is having trouble shooting subjects with bright backlight. He ends up either over exposing or under exposing his subject. One of the simplest ways to creating dramatic photos, is backlighting your subject. Backlighting is done by placing your main light behind your subject, facing you and the camera from the front. With backlighting it all comes down to two options, really: Exposing for the background, thus rendering your subject as a silhouette. Exposing for the subject, and blowing out your background. However, if you wanna counteract...
Read MorePhotography & exposure: Subject brightness range (SBR)
If there was no such thing as light, subjects would have no contrast. Light creates subject contrast which is obvious between the lightest and darkest parts of the subject. If one subject was, lets say, an over-all neutral toned one, then it would have no contrast of its own. If that subject was lit by two lights with varying intensities, it would then have lighting contrast which would be evident in the difference between the brightly and dimly lit areas of that subject. Playing with and/or incorporating different light sources with varying intensities would help you contract or expand the contrast range of your subject. If it was evenly lit, the only contrast...
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